Karlston Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 The Best Smart Plugs to Modernize Your Home An internet-connected plug can give any basic appliance a brain. Here are our favorites (and a few we don't like). You don't have to outfit your entire house with expensive smart equipment—with potentially prying eyes—to experience the ease of life that comes with a smart home. A cheap smart plug will do. They can go a long way in making devices, like lamps or TVs, go from mindless to smart with the quick install of an app. We've tested several smart plugs and these are our favorites (and ones we didn't like). We have plenty of other recommendations to help you build a smarter home, so check out our guides to the Best Smart Bulbs, Best Smart Speakers, and Best Smart Displays. If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. Learn more. A Note on Smart Plugs Tips Before You Buy Before you start shopping for a smart plug, you'll need to keep a few things in mind. What are you going to use it for? Not everything you connect to a smart plug will work the way you intend. For example, if you plug an old window AC unit into a smart plug, you might be able to control power to it, but you also might still need to hit the "On" button on the AC to get it to start cooling, therefore making the smart plug useless. If whatever you want to connect immediately starts its function with the flick of a switch (like fans, lamps, TVs), you'll likely be OK. Be aware of the size. Smart plugs are thick and bulky. If you plug one into a socket, there's a chance it might take up too much space, making it impossible to plug something else into your second socket. You can usually find a smart plug's dimensions on the company or retailer's website, so measure before you buy, and look at customer reviews that might mention such a hindrance. You'll need an app. You usually need to install an app to set up the smart plug, and this is where you can control it and find more granular settings, like the ability to set schedules and group several smart plugs into one category. If you want to use many smart plugs in your home, you'll have an easier time buying from one brand. Most of these plugs also work with Google Assistant or Alexa, so once you set up the app and connect them to your preferred voice assistant, you may not need to use the app anymore. You might experience connection issues. If your Wi-Fi or power goes out, you may have to reconnect your smart plug. It's just one of those small annoyances of owning one. Photograph: Wyze Best Overall Wyze Plug I've never been disappointed by a Wyze product, and that includes this smart plug. It's cheap, but it doesn't skimp on quality or function. The Wyze app is easy to navigate and the control screen is straightforward. You can toggle the plug on and off or set a timer, see your daily and weekly run time, and set it to vacation mode. With the latter, you can go out of town and Wyze's plugs will turn on and off at random times during the day, making it look like someone's home (potentially thwarting burglars). This is particularly helpful if you're using the plugs with several lamps. Works with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa $15 at Wyze (Two-Pack) $20 at Amazon (Two-Pack) Photograph: TP Link A Great Runner-Up TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug HS105 Several WIRED staffers own and love these plugs, including senior associate editor Julian Chokkattu, who recommends them in our Best Smart Bulbs guide. He already owns fancy (and not smart) bulbs, but still wanted the ease of controlling them with his voice via Google Assistant. He connected several lamps to TP-Link's HS105 plugs and has run into little to no issues after using them for more than a year. With the TP-Link Kasa app, you can group plugs together to turn on several items at once, see runtime, set routines, timers, and schedules. There's also an "Away" mode that functions almost exactly like the Wyze Plug's Vacation mode. It's a little pricier than the Wyze, but you can get the Kasa HS103 model for far less. The main difference between the two is the HS105 has a higher max load, so it's better to use with devices that might require a bit more power, like fans. Works with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa $40 $32 at Amazon (Two-Pack) $40 at Best Buy (Two-Pack) Photograph: Eve A Pricey Power Strip (for Apple Households) Eve Energy Strip The Eve Energy Strip, housed in a black and metal casing, is sleek—not something I'd say about most power strips. If your power strips are out and about for everyone to see, might as well get one that looks good, right? The downside is it only has three outlets, despite its size, and it's expensive. But if you have an Apple device, like an iPhone, iPad, or a HomePod, you can talk to Siri to control anything plugged into each of the three outlets individually. There's plenty of space between each outlet for big adapters, it offers surge protection like most good power strips, and with the app, you can keep track of power usage. Works with Apple HomeKit $100 $80 at Amazon $100 at Apple Photograph: Eufy Honorable Mentions Other Good Smart Plugs There are many smart plugs out there with similar features and designs, so buying one might come down to price and brand. We love the ones listed above, but if you already use smart home products from any of the following brands and you want to keep your logins and app count down to one ecosystem, any of these are still good picks. Eufy Mini for $25: Eufy makes some reliable products (we like its affordable robot vacuum). Its app is easy to navigate—from one screen you can manually turn the plugs on and off, set schedules and timers, and see runtime and energy use. It's a little more expensive per plug, which is why it didn't make the cut above, but if you already own other Eufy products, get the Mini. Works with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa C by GE Smart Plug for $17: We like C by GE's smart home products, like its smart bulb, and you may want to stay in the family and use the brand's plug. It's inexpensive, but the app isn't as nice as the others I tested. From the plug's main screen, you can turn it on or off, but you have to go to other menus to access automation settings, and it doesn't give you any information on usage. Works with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple HomeKit Samsung SmartThings for $18: This plug's app is as straightforward as the other ones we tested, with an on/off switch, a timer, and schedule, as well as energy consumption and power meter histograms. My issue is that SmartThings supports so many products that it took me a moment to figure out exactly which plug I was using in the app. I didn't have any problems using the plugs, but I've seen several online reviews where people mention not being able to connect or the timers not working. Samsung does offer returns if you keep the original packaging, so keep that in mind in case you're concerned. Works with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Samsung's Bixby Photograph: Eve Plugs to Avoid Tough to Recommend Not all plugs are created equal. Here's what you should be wary of purchasing. Eve Energy for $39: I love Eve's Energy Strip despite its high price because it works well and is quite nice to look at. The Energy Plug, on the other hand, doesn't really stand out with its design. It only supports Siri, and one is more than twice the price of the Wyze two-pack. It's just too expensive. Wemo Mini for $20: WIRED staffers who own this plug have not had much luck with it. Editor Julian Chokkattu says his plug worked OK for a while, but after his Wi-Fi went out once, he failed to get the Wemo Mini to connect to the app again, rendering it useless. Even when it was working fine, it failed far more often than his TP-Link plugs. Anbes Mini for $16: Though not currently available on Amazon, WIRED reviewer Parker Hall says to avoid the Anbes Mini at all costs. He bought a few and had issues with every single one. The bypass button didn't even work so he couldn't use them as regular outlets. The Best Smart Plugs to Modernize Your Home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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